This is a small village near Dover in Kent. My intention is to show some of the Village, its history and the wildlife I find there.

Sunday, 10 October 2010

Sighing, waiting, hoping

There were quite a few birds around today, with the arrival of a lot of finches and thrushes, but between us we failed to find anything out of the ordinary. The main event seemed to be a dramatic increase in the number of Goldcrests around.

After a good walk round I decided to have another wait and see period at our "reservoir". It was good to take the weight off my feet and with a sigh of relief I found a place to perch. There were still a few Chiffchaffs in the wood and I hoped that something a little more unusual might join them when they came down to drink. Of course Blue Tit (and Great Tits) put in visits, both are always enthusiastic bathers when they get the chance.

I was pleased when this male Blackcap came down. I hadn't seen it when I was birding in the wood, so it at least proved that birds that were otherwise difficult to see would come into view here.

When a few of the Goldcrests arrived I could here them all round. I was sitting on a horizontal branch, and they must have passed with in a couple of feet of my head. Soon there were several in the tangle of twigs in one of the small bushes growing in the corner of the tank. Although several Firecrest were seen to day, none joined their less spectacular relatives here.

Chaffinches were the most numerous of the visitors but they didn't bring any of the Bramblings or Siskins that were accompanying them in the finch flocks moving along the cliff top. AT least two Bramblings were in one of the large sycamores on the edge of the farmyard when I looked later, so I've every hope that the next time I have a wait and see session one might drop in to see me.

There were a few Robins in the area and I certainly had the feeling that our local population has been supplemented by quite a lot of new arrivals in the last few days. After a while the need to move became overwhelming and I discovered that my right leg was completely non responsive, being totally full of pins and needles. I managed not to fall over, quite a feat, as those who know me will confirm.

When I got home the promised warm afternoon had arrived and I finishes mowing the grass. One of the main beneficiaries of this was a Green Woodpecker, that to advantage of no being able to see the ground and find some of the millions of ants that seem to have made our "lawn" their home. The Woodpecker saw me sneaking round the corner of the house and flew up into a tree rather than risk a picture on the grass.